Checking WebP support across major browsers
WebP is supported in Chrome 32+, Firefox 65+, Edge 18+, and Safari 14+ (macOS 11 / iOS 14) -- broad support across all major current browsers, with any remaining unsupported visitors needing a fallback treated as JPEG or PNG.
The recommended fallback pattern uses the fallback -- browsers that support WebP use it automatically, while older or unsupported browsers silently fall through to the standard fallback image format, with no JavaScript or feature-detection code required.
The specific version numbers listed (Chrome 32+, Firefox 65+, and so on) represent when each browser first added WebP support -- since these are all now old browser versions (Firefox 65 dates to early 2019, for example), the practical remaining gap in modern traffic is usually small, but not always zero, depending on your specific audience.
Why this needs periodic re-checking against live data
Planning notes baked into this page. Confirm current caniuse data before a production cutoff. Browser support data is a snapshot that becomes stale over time as new versions release and old ones age out of usage -- the version numbers shown here are planning notes baked into this page rather than a live-updating feed, so confirming against a live source like caniuse.com is worth doing before committing to dropping fallback support in production.
This same fallback logic and reasoning extends to AVIF, an even newer format with generally smaller file sizes than WebP but a shorter support history and correspondingly higher rate of remaining unsupported browsers in most audiences as of any given check -- AVIF adoption tends to lag WebP's by design, since it's the newer of the two formats.
Checking browser support isn't just about whether a format displays at all -- some older browser versions with partial or buggy early WebP support could render the image incorrectly rather than cleanly failing over to the fallback, which is a subtler compatibility risk beyond simple yes/no support.
Related image-format and optimization tools
Once format support is confirmed, estimating the actual file-size savings from switching to WebP is a natural next step -- the Image File Size Estimator compares JPEG, WebP, and PNG size estimates directly.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What's the recommended way to serve WebP with a fallback for unsupported browsers?
Use fallback lets supporting browsers use WebP automatically while unsupported browsers fall through cleanly to the fallback format, with no JavaScript needed.
Is the browser support data on this page always current?
Planning notes baked into this page. Confirm current caniuse data before a production cutoff. Not necessarily -- it's a planning snapshot baked into the page rather than a live feed. Confirm against a live, continuously updated source like caniuse.com before making a final production decision about dropping fallback support.
Should I expect similar support numbers for AVIF as for WebP?
Planning notes baked into this page. Confirm current caniuse data before a production cutoff. No -- AVIF is a newer format with a shorter support history, so it typically has a higher rate of remaining unsupported browsers in most audiences compared to the more established WebP format, as of any given check.
Does 'supported' always mean the image renders correctly?
Generally yes for the version thresholds listed, but some older or edge-case browser versions with early, partial WebP support have historically had rendering bugs rather than a clean failover -- a subtler risk beyond simple supported/unsupported status.
Why do the version numbers matter if they're all fairly old browsers now?
They mark when each browser first added WebP support. Since those versions are now quite old (Firefox 65 dates to early 2019, for example), the practical remaining unsupported audience in most modern traffic is typically small -- though not necessarily zero, depending on your specific visitor base.
